Orchard Hills - Strada by Irvine Pacific

[sky949]

The houses on Copper Mine are fully framed - should be complete by the end of the year.

Looks good Perspective --- Also looks like all the houses on the IUSD side of Stage coach are almost complete.

 

[Perspective]

Looks like IP's hardwood flooring quote for us is ~50% higher than an after-COE quote. This board had me concerned it might be closer to a 100% markup. Now we'll have to decide what portion of flooring, if any, we'll do after COE.

 

[bones]

Looks like IP's hardwood flooring quote for us is ~50% higher than an after-COE quote. This board had me concerned it might be closer to a 100% markup. Now we'll have to decide what portion of flooring, if any, we'll do after COE.

Ours was ~40% more for hardwood (can't remember exact now) and we just went with the builder. Easy peasy.  But of course I didn't get to write a cool post COE review about my outside flooring vendor. So tough call

 

[OC troll]

Looks like IP's hardwood flooring quote for us is ~50% higher than an after-COE quote. This board had me concerned it might be closer to a 100% markup. Now we'll have to decide what portion of flooring, if any, we'll do after COE.

Go with the builder, less hassle. And if anything goes wrong easier to complain to IP than to some vendor who will likely ignore your calls. After going thru a few remodels, and then going thru builder, it was worth every penny. Alot of the contractors don't give a crap about your house and will cut corners or damage something, which you won't discover until they're long gone.

 

[sky949]

Looks like IP's hardwood flooring quote for us is ~50% higher than an after-COE quote. This board had me concerned it might be closer to a 100% markup. Now we'll have to decide what portion of flooring, if any, we'll do after COE.

We saw the same and went with the builder -- the difference for us when you take into consideration the whole house flooring credit was coming down to a couple of thousand (once you add all the demo / base boards cost etc) -- and as we were anyhow going with the builder for the bathroom floors, it just was easier to get the rest of it done - less hassle.

But the flooring selection in the design center is pretty limited -- One important factor to do it after COE in case you like a different hardwood or tile that the builder doesn't carry.

Also if you have good contacts and have done a flooring upgrade before then its not that hard to get it done COE -- I have seen quite a few people do it in Strada itself.

Factors that made our decision:
1. Cost difference -- with the whole floor credit.
2. Vetting Flooring contractors and FOLLOW UP -- now and later in case of any issues.
3. Time to spend after COE.

 

[cheetos]

My parents did wood flooring through the builder (Laing Homes not IP). A year later the wood starting warping in places because of the temperature/humidity change. The builder put us in the Marriott Villas for a week with food credit while they replaced all of the wood flooring in the house at no cost. I think the 50% markup is worth the peace of mind.

 

[8porkchop]

We submitted the landscape plan to HOA last week.  We just received a letter yesterday from HOA; informing that its takes up to 45 days to get approval  from  the architectural committee -- due to many submissions!
Anybody on this board got the HOA approval recently; and what is your experience? Thanks

Are you building a structure to your home like a CA room? If so it takes 3-4 weeks for HOA to approve. But if it's a simple plan then less. What got me was the fees, $200 for the front, $200 for the back, and $300 for any architectural change + the $500 deposit. Also, if you do an architectural change then you also have to pay the city for a permit and wait about a month and half for that. Just pray that your landscaper submits very detailed plans to the HOA, they are very detailed oriented.

 

[Changer]

For the flooring, I'd like input on my logic. The assumption is you take a 30 year loan and the builder flooring is 50% higher then COE option that you must pay upon job completion. If I sell the house in 15 years, then I essentially only paid for 50% of the flooring (not exactly, but roughly speaking). I will also receive incremental profit on the price of the flooring if my house sells for more than I paid for it. So why not go with the builder for the scenario I describe? Essentially, I did not have to pay for the builder premium and have a chance to make some extra profit.

 

[Perspective]

For the flooring, I'd like input on my logic. The assumption is you take a 30 year loan and the builder flooring is 50% higher then COE option that you must pay upon job completion. If I sell the house in 15 years, then I essentially only paid for 50% of the flooring (not exactly, but roughly speaking). I will also receive incremental profit on the price of the flooring if my house sells for more than I paid for it. So why not go with the builder for the scenario I describe? Essentially, I did not have to pay for the builder premium and have a chance to make some extra profit.

Your math works, IF your buyer fifteen years later doesn't dislike your flooring choices and pays your asking price. The problem is, tastes differ today, and trends change quickly. Today, blonde oil-finished (matte) hardwood floors are popular. Next year, something else will be.

 

[qwerty]

I hope your not a financial advisor

For the flooring, I'd like input on my logic. The assumption is you take a 30 year loan and the builder flooring is 50% higher then COE option that you must pay upon job completion. If I sell the house in 15 years, then I essentially only paid for 50% of the flooring (not exactly, but roughly speaking). I will also receive incremental profit on the price of the flooring if my house sells for more than I paid for it. So why not go with the builder for the scenario I describe? Essentially, I did not have to pay for the builder premium and have a chance to make some extra profit.

 

[paperboyNC]

For the flooring, I'd like input on my logic. The assumption is you take a 30 year loan and the builder flooring is 50% higher then COE option that you must pay upon job completion. If I sell the house in 15 years, then I essentially only paid for 50% of the flooring (not exactly, but roughly speaking). I will also receive incremental profit on the price of the flooring if my house sells for more than I paid for it. So why not go with the builder for the scenario I describe? Essentially, I did not have to pay for the builder premium and have a chance to make some extra profit.

Getting flooring from the builder is fine IMO. If you sell your home in 15 years in your simple scenario you still have to pay off your mortgage (the balance of your flooring cost included).

 

[timandjess]

Shouldn't we also calculate in the additional tax/MR when you purchase flooring upgrades through the builder?

If my understanding is right, a $50,000 flooring purchased through the builder is considered into your final purchase price.  So if your tax rate plus MR is 1.7%, you are paying $850 more a year. 

 

[qwerty]

The MR is fixed. So on upgrades you are paying the 1% property tax each year, which is subject to 2% annual increases.

 

[Changer]

So assuming flooring upgrade is $50K, then I will pay Irvine $500/yr. I'll accept the 1% luxury tax to potentially make 5% ROI. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

So assuming flooring upgrade is $50K, then I will pay Irvine $500/yr. I'll accept the 1% luxury tax to potentially make 5% ROI. 

Won't you still make that no matter who you go with for flooring?

 

[eyephone]

So assuming flooring upgrade is $50K, then I will pay Irvine $500/yr. I'll accept the 1% luxury tax to potentially make 5% ROI. 

That's if the market is up.

 

[eatthis]

Won't you still make that no matter who you go with for flooring?

That's true. I think he's just going for the leverage play. Your actual ROI is higher if you only put down, in his example, 50% of the cost.

If you put down $100 to make $10 you made 10%. But, if you only put down $50 and borrow the rest but make the same $10 then you've made 20%, at least against the principal. Once you factor in interest and tax your mileage will vary.

 

[Perspective]

There are a few lots available. I think the current release is Phase 20 - the cul-de-sac on the east side of Bountiful. An actual X plan made it to the price sheet. A Plan 3X, Lot 220 on Hayloft, is available for $1,247,900. I'm not sure that price includes much a premium for the lot. It's not large, and not at the end of the cul-de-sac, but should have some views of the orchard hill. The price likely reflects how hot the X plans have been.

I'm a little surprised Lot 223 Plan 2 is available. The price is high for a Plan 2 at $1,214,300, but the backyard is massive for Strada and it's at the end of the cul-de-sac. It should have great views of the orchard hill. It lies next to the Twisted Oak street. That might concern buyers.

 

[Jonah]

They're really moving ahead quickly.  When did they release the current phase?  Interesting price increases there.  It is interesting that Lot 223 remains unsold as it's good size lot with nice views, I'd have thought.  Strada continues apace.

 

[Patriotone]

One note to all plan 2 buyers (just realized this today)

Make sure to include internet access port in the first floor bedroom for plan 2.
This port does not come standard and is an add-on option.

I thought I wouldn't need it because of wifi access, but for some reason this first floor bedroom simply cannot get signal.

The coax comes in at the master closet, so I have the router setup in there.
I have a pretty new 802.11ac router with excellent range.  The smart TV and ipad access in the kitchen and great room (even backyard) are all excellent for streaming up to 4K.  I have 100mb from cox and the wifi speed test in the great room gets about 35mb download (107mb wired).

But I think the downstairs bedroom, which I'm now setting up as a home office just has too many bends.  I get 2mb at best.  And that's after I setup an access point downstairs at the great room.  $100 range extenders don't do much at all.

The only solution I have is to actually run a wire down to the room and setup the access point there.

So make sure you opt for that extra internet port.

Is this a Plan 2 issue, or has Irvine Pacific changed this since your phase? I just checked our standard electric diagram for a Plan 3 to confirm my initial thought, and Cat 5 data ports are included in all four bedrooms, the loft, and great room.

Thanks for the heads up Aquabliss. I too have a plan 2 and I get no signal in the 1st floor bedroom. I thought about extenders but I have heard that they don't work too well.  So you're telling me this extender from Costco works well by leaving it in the loft? I was just thinking about doing a hard wire but can't seem to find the proper cable upstairs.

There are a multitude of extenders and access points on the market, so a little research will do you well.  Also, you could always move your router from the master closet to any of the more central rooms.  All you have to do is plug the modem output into the blue Ethernet cable for the room you want to setup your router.

Thanks Patrione, but I have a modem wifi combo. Moving this shouldn't effect my tv signal? Is it a different line?

Sorry, just saw this.  Assuming you have cable TV and Internet, a single coaxial cable supplies both TV and Internet signal.  In the upstairs media box, the signal feeds the coaxial (TV) connectors around the house and your internet modem.  Since you have a combo modem/WiFi box you can simply plug the coax from any room into the internet modem.